Alan Canfora, one of the student activists wounded when the National Guard opened fire on an anti-war demonstration at Kent State University, on May 4, 1970, has died at age 71.

Alan was a key leader to in the militant struggle to prevent KSU administrators from building a gym on the site of the killings. The fight brought together student activists from across the country under the slogan, “Long live the spirit of Kent and Jackson State.”

While the gym was finally built in 1979, the struggle, which involved hundreds of arrests, demonstrators defying court injunctions, and clouds of tear gas, the point was made – the crime committed at Kent State would never be forgiven, and the resistance that followed May 4, would never be forgotten. Alan devoted the rest of his life to keeping alive the memory of what happened at Kent State on May 4.

Mick Kelly, a member of the Revolutionary Student Brigade in the 1970s, stated, “I traveled to Kent many times to participate in the ‘move the gym’ struggle. Alan was a courageous leader and a dynamic speaker, who condemned the crimes of U.S. imperialism. While his politics moderated in later life, his consistent work to keep alive the memory of May 4, 1970 is something to be respected.” Kelly is currently the editor of Fight Back!

Joe Iosbaker, a leader of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, stated, “When I started college in the fall of 1977, I travelled to protests at Kent State to stop the administration there from building a gym on the site where the National Guard killed four students and wounded nine. Alan Canfora was the survivor of the massacre that kept the struggle going for justice for the victims at Kent and at Jackson State from May of 1970.”

Iosbaker continued, “At those protests, I was tear gassed repeatedly, beaten, and run over by state police on horses. I was radicalized, I also met Alan Canfora and became his friend. We were roommates when we travelled to China the next summer to learn about socialism.”

Fight Back! sends it condolences to Alan’s family and his many friends. He will be missed.

Alan Canfora, presente!

Long live the spirit of Kent and Jackson State!

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #StudentMovement #Remembrances #PeoplesStruggles #AlanCanfora #KentStateMassacre

Glen Ellyn, IL – On April 30, the College of DuPage (CoD) Board of Trustees formally recognized a new ‘Clean Slate’ board, which voted to place the former president, Robert Breuder on administrative leave. Last month, Breuder was forced to take early leave due to a vote of no confidence by the Faculty Association, after years of struggle against his corruption and repression of academic freedom.

At the board of trustees meeting, during the section reserved for public comments immediately after the vote, a representative of CoD Students for a Democratic Society presented the following statement of solidarity that they received from Alan Canfora. Canfora was wounded on May 4, 1970, when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on an anti-war demonstration at Kent State University, killing four students.

Kent State means defend freedom of expression – support for the students and faculty of College of Dupage

Sisters and brothers – I have read about the abuses and corruption by your former president at the College of DuPage. It has been inspiring to learn of the struggles by the Faculty Association and the Students for a Democratic Society.

It takes courage to stand against an administration such as yours.

In addition to spending millions on himself and his cronies, Breuder denied faculty their role in reviewing their programs. He turned the student newspaper into a mouthpiece for his administration. He even fired an advisor and teacher when she spoke out.

Early on in his tenure, Breuder used the campus as a staging area for the police and military forces assembled to repress the protests against the summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 2012.

In a move that brought CoD to my attention, he wanted the college’s “Homeland Security Education Center” named after him. The center was built on the site of a memorial constructed in the early 1970s to the student protesters who were shot at Kent and Jackson State. I am a survivor of the May 4th massacre at Kent. We were opposing the Vietnam War and the oppression of African Americans. And like your struggle, Kent and Jackson State means that freedom of expression is a just cause.

Congratulations on the victory in removing that administration.

I am confident that your continued struggle to restore education rights at CoD will be victorious.

Alan Canfora

#GlenEllynIL #AntiwarMovement #CollegeOfDuPage #KentState #AlanCanfora